UGA scrambles to find healthy defensive ends

Athens — Georgia’s football coaches went scrounging for defensive ends Tuesday. They found two walk-on tight ends who will move to the injury-decimated position to help the team get through the remainder of spring practice.

The search for bodies came after the coaches learned that Jeremy Longo likely will miss the remainder of the spring with a shoulder injury — the fifth scholarship defensive end sidelined.

That left only two, Justin Houston and Kiante Tripp, on the field.

Enter Ben Harbin and Trenton Turner, redshirt freshmen walk-on tight ends who will shift to defense for the next two weeks.

“We just got to do what we got to do,” coach Mark Richt said. “We’re not going to cancel spring ball.”

Georgia entered the spring with three scholarship defensive ends sidelined while rehabbing from off-season surgeries — Roderick Battle, Neland Ball and Cornelius Washington.

The injuries at the position continued last week, when Demarcus Dobbs broke a bone in his left foot, and Monday, when Longo injured a shoulder in the Bulldogs’ first scrimmage of the spring.

Longo’s injury was diagnosed as a partial dislocation that is not expected to require surgery.

“I doubt he gets back in [this spring],” Richt said.

Because all five of the injured defensive ends are expected to be back in action by summer, the coaches decided against shifting a front-line player to the position. Richt said they might have considered someone such as linebacker Darryl Gamble, who filled in at the position late in Monday’s scrimmage, “if we thought these defensive ends wouldn’t be available for the season.”

Slow going at tailback

No one is off and running toward nailing down the No. 1 tailback job.

“I’ve seen flashes,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said Tuesday. “I would say nobody has been consistent enough to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got a No. 1 guy who has shown what he can do.’ “

The primary competitors for Knowshon Moreno’s old job this spring are Caleb King, the state’s No. 1 prospect in 2007, and Carlton Thomas, the small, but shifty, runner.

Two other eventual candidates — Richard Samuel and Dontavius Jackson — have not been in the mix. Samuel, who shared the role of Moreno backup with King last season, is sidelined until summer because of wrist surgery. Jackson has been held out of contact after arthroscopic knee surgery, but he expects to be cleared for full participation by next week.

“I’ve just been working hard, doing rehab,” Jackson said. “I want to go out there and do what I can do to help the situation.”

King said he has made progress in a key area this spring. “You can’t see blocks in the stats,” he said. “But if you watch film, I’m blocking pretty good.”

Etc.

Georgia practiced for about 90 minutes in a cool drizzle Tuesday.

“Mostly we corrected mistakes from [Monday’s] scrimmage and ran a little soreness off,” Richt said.

The Bulldogs practice again today, Friday and Saturday.